Cook County Jail inmates picked Kim Foxx-backed Clayton Harris over Eileen O’Neill Burke in Tuesday’s Cook County State’s Attorney Democrat primary.
A total of 313 inmates who were in jail on Tuesday pulled Democrat ballots, and 207 (66 percent) picked Harris to 106 (34 percent) for O’Neill Burke, according to precinct results published by City of Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.
The jail, located at 2700 S. California Ave., a few blocks east of Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, has its own precinct– 19– in the 24th Ward.
In the 2020 Cook County State’s Attorney Democrat primary, Foxx won 353 of 465 Cook County Jail votes (76 percent), to 74 for Bill Conway (16 percent), 30 for Donna More (six percent) and eight votes for Bob Fioretti (two percent).
Foxx also won the 2016 Democrat primary, winning 177 votes (49 percent) to 127 (35 percent) for incumbent Anita Alvarez and 55 votes (15 percent) for More.
Pritzker with 86 percent
Inmates in the Cook County Jail have voted twice, overwhelmingly for Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
In 2018, Pritzker won 85 percent of the jailhouse vote, notching a 379-43 win over then-incumbent Republican Governor Bruce Rauner.
In 2022, Pritzker won 86 percent, besting Republican Darren Bailey, 981-123.
Pritzker, perhaps, paid the jail precinct victory forward, ushering in the so-called “SAFE-T Act” in 2022, which was written by advocates for Illinois criminals and has led to the emptying of state jails.
Jail inmates picked Mayor Brandon Johnson (81 percent) over Paul Vallas (19 percent) for Mayor in 2023. In 2019, they picked Lori Lightfoot (62 percent) over Toni Preckwinkle (38 percent).
Vote totals at the jail have spiked over the past decade.
In 2010, only 112 inmates voted in the Illinois Governor’s race, with 91 of them (81 percent) picking Democrat Pat Quinn and nine voting for Republican Bill Brady (8 percent).
Cook County Jail voting in the Illinois Governor’s race doubled in 2014– 239 inmate votes, 209 for Quinn (87 percent) to 24 (10 percent) for Rauner– and then nearly doubled again in 2018 to 445, in Pritzker’s 85 percent win.
In 2012, 418 inmates voted for U.S. President, with 357 (85 percent) picking Democrat Barack Obama, to 56 for Mitt Romney (13 percent). Then 492 voted in 2016, picking Hillary Clinton (92 percent) to Donald Trump (four percent).
In 2020, Cook County Jail voting for U.S. President grew 237 percent to 1,167 votes.
President Joe Biden received 821 votes (70 percent) to 307 for Trump (30 percent).
From 2012 to 2022, the jail was the 16th precinct in the 24th Ward, and from 2010-2012, it was the sixth precinct in Ward 12.
